Sunday, July 22, 2007
Spectator woes
Vino was having problems already, but it went from bad to worse today:
"A fan waved a flag when he and (Serhiy) Ivanov were on the ascent of the Plateau-de-Beille," an Astana spokesman told Reuters by phone. "The flag got caught in Ivanov's wheel. He fell off his bike and so did 'Vino', who was following him. He just has small bruises and his knees have not been hurt." However, Vinokourov had already been dropped in the first climb of the day, a 16.8-km ascent to the Port de Pailheres, which he reached five minutes behind the main contenders. "
Andrew Hood from VeloNews said: "the driver of the medical car chased down the spectator, who was hiding among the crowd behind a car. The fan pleaded that the incident was a mistake." Um, I wonder what the driver would have done otherwise? Put him in the hospital?
I've looked for photographs of the incident but haven't found any. Readers, have you seen any? There's some sad post-crash finishing photos of Vino here and here.
Also from Stage 14, the other medical reports:
Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne) stomach ache.
Fischer (Liquigas) stomach ache.
Sprick (Bouygues Telecom) digestive problems, insect bite.
Gilbert (FDJeux) digestive problems, fever.
Rodriguez (Predictor-Lotto) digestive problems.
Chavanel (FDJeux) stomach pain.
Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) crash at beginning of stage, minor cuts and scrapes.
Martinez (Discovery Channel) crash at beginning of stage, minor cuts and scrapes.
Vinokourov (Astana) crash on the Plateau de Beille climb, various scrapes.
Ivanov (Astana) crash on the Plateau de Beille climb, cuts to hand, scrapes.
Perez Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) crash on the Plateau de Beille climb, various cuts.
Jury decisions: No rulings
I have to wonder if all those stomach problems were riders feeling like they wanted to throw up when they caught sight of the Plateau de Beille climb.
"A fan waved a flag when he and (Serhiy) Ivanov were on the ascent of the Plateau-de-Beille," an Astana spokesman told Reuters by phone. "The flag got caught in Ivanov's wheel. He fell off his bike and so did 'Vino', who was following him. He just has small bruises and his knees have not been hurt." However, Vinokourov had already been dropped in the first climb of the day, a 16.8-km ascent to the Port de Pailheres, which he reached five minutes behind the main contenders. "
Andrew Hood from VeloNews said: "the driver of the medical car chased down the spectator, who was hiding among the crowd behind a car. The fan pleaded that the incident was a mistake." Um, I wonder what the driver would have done otherwise? Put him in the hospital?
I've looked for photographs of the incident but haven't found any. Readers, have you seen any? There's some sad post-crash finishing photos of Vino here and here.
Also from Stage 14, the other medical reports:
Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne) stomach ache.
Fischer (Liquigas) stomach ache.
Sprick (Bouygues Telecom) digestive problems, insect bite.
Gilbert (FDJeux) digestive problems, fever.
Rodriguez (Predictor-Lotto) digestive problems.
Chavanel (FDJeux) stomach pain.
Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) crash at beginning of stage, minor cuts and scrapes.
Martinez (Discovery Channel) crash at beginning of stage, minor cuts and scrapes.
Vinokourov (Astana) crash on the Plateau de Beille climb, various scrapes.
Ivanov (Astana) crash on the Plateau de Beille climb, cuts to hand, scrapes.
Perez Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) crash on the Plateau de Beille climb, various cuts.
Jury decisions: No rulings
I have to wonder if all those stomach problems were riders feeling like they wanted to throw up when they caught sight of the Plateau de Beille climb.
Labels: Ivanov, Vinokourov
